Ayodhya

Ayodhya is a three-hour leisurely drive from Lucknow. Thanks to my cousin Anil, a posse of policemen were waiting for us at the city ‘gates’. Led by the police vehicle, feeling quite like VIPs (only the beacon and hooter were missing) we breezed through the town to arrive at ‘Ram Janam Bhumi’ where Ram Lalla’s Mandir is under construction.  

I need not go into the history of Ram Janam Bhumi. Suffice to mention that ‘Babri Masjid’, a mosque standing at the site was demolished in December 1992 by an agitating mob who believed that the mosque was constructed in 1528-29 after demolishing a centuries old temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram. The construction of the temple began after a long drawn legal battle for possession of the site during which a number of relics were unearthed by the Archeological Survey of India substantiating the existence of a temple at the site.

We, and our escort, had to deboard and walk more than a kilometer before we were subjected to a grueling security check the kind of which is not seen even at the airports. Even the police personnel escorting us were not spared for there are no VIPs in the Court of Ram Lalla. I don’t know what is with photography in Uttar Pradesh? Be it the Imambaras of Lucknow or the Ram Lalla’s Mandir in Ayodhya, or Vishwanath Mandir of Varanasi – as we were to learn the next day – photography of any kind is taboo. We were asked to surrender our cameras and mobiles to security personnel. Who carries cameras in the days of mobiles anyway? And, as advised by our escort, we had left our mobiles in the car.

We managed to have a glimpse of Ram Lalla after fighting a long time from being crushed to death, a task made slightly easier by the policemen protecting our front and rear.

In the few seconds we were able to spend in front of Him I could see Ram Lalla, who has been living in a tent pending completion of His temple, struggling to breathe from under the enormous quantity of flowers offered by devotees.

We collected our ‘prasad’, which the priests were generous with, and proceeded to the section where the specimen recovered by the Archeological Survey are on display. Photographs? Prohibited. Oh, how I wish I had a spy camera!

One cannot take photographs even at Hanumangarhi temple of Lard Hanuman. A statue of Bal Hanuman nestled in the lap of Mother Anjani is installed in this 1oth century Hanuman temple. the narrow passage around the main temple is infested with flower vendors, palm readers, horoscope readers etc., all of them eager to make you part with your cash.

The only place we were at liberty to take photographs was the river, Saryu.